Time to take another stab in the dark leading into the season.
Rabbitohs - probably the best spine & backline in the competition
Storm - as long as Cam Smith stays fit, the well oiled machine will stay in motion
Panthers - forget 2019, they were distracted all season, the young talent is on the way up
Roosters - another well oiled machine, the loss of Cronk probably the only thing stopping them getting a 3-peat
Sea Eagles - any team with the Turbo brothers will be hard to stop, probably the best forward pack in the competition
Raiders - have lost a few key players, but will still compete well, big question mark over how Williams will handle the NRL
Cowboys - good forward pack & spine, will grind their way to the finals
Eels - performed well in 2019, but i have a big question mark over how well they will back up, Moses needs another big season
Knights - close, but no cigar, their strike weapons are good, but not enough to cover their weaknesses
Broncos - have some good players, but need Milford & Croft to both fire to get them into the finals
Sharks - have the talent, but something doesn’t feel right about them at the moment, the loss of Gallen will have an impact & moving away from their traditional home ground will probably cost them a few games
Tigers - look a bit behind most of the top teams in every area, will need to be at their best all year if they want to play in the finals
Warriors - have a reasonable team, that will compete, the question is for how long
Bulldogs - reasonable forward pack, but big question mark over their spine, hard to get too excited about them for this year
Titans - have a good enough team to make the finals, but need to get rid of the holiday strip mentality if they want to compete
Dragons - should do better with the players they have, but you have to wonder about the coaching, wouldn’t be surprised to see McGregor get his marching orders if they start slow
Fearless set o predictions, Mutley. I’m not that brave, but a couple of points of difference:
Not convinced abou the Cowboys yet. They won the Nines, but I’ll wait & see how their spine performs week in, week out.
Manly overachieved last year, IMHO, & without Manase Fainu I think they’ll struggle.
Reverse with the Dragon - pretty good roster, although the question hanging over Frizell’s future & DeBelin’s needs to be resolved. I think they’ll do ok.
Storm will be up there, but maybe not as dominant as previous years - like the Cows, I think the spine will get there, but may have a few teething problems. Culture will stand them in good stead.
Panthers - Lots of good young talent, but questions how Cleary will go steering the side on his own, who will partner him in the halves & how they will go week in/week out. Very inexperienced three-quarters, esp with Edwards out for 2 months. If Whare or Mansour get injured - and they’ve been injury prone - there’ll be one guy in the entire 3/4 line with more than a handful of NRL games. Capewell may find himself playing centre more than he’d like. I hope we make the 8, but honestly not optimistic atm.
Mutley, surprised at the Sharks posi, could have really taken a swipe their. I predict they will finish bottom 4 with an expectation that last is not out of the question, depending on what o’l mate does with the Titans
i think Storm,Roosters,Souths and Cowboys will be in the 8
Raiders a lot will depend on how hungry or let down they felt from last tear
Eels have added some players and should join the Raiders in the 8
After that its a lottery for 2 spots and sadly i don’t see Panthers making the 8
The bigger question would be to ask where do we see a breakout performance come from similar to Raiders last year
Sharks have people who want out,Dragons are similar and McGregor just doesn’t seem to get his roster on the same page and they fade
Warriors are similar and just cannot seem to turn up in any consistent manner which makes them a wild card if they make the 8
Broncos have enormous challenges and while Mutley tipped Mcgregor to get axed early if Dragons get off to a slow start…i think Siebold will be under greater pressure especially considering last years efforts from a club used to winning…if they lose say 4 to 6 straight early he will get punted
Wooden spooners may be a surprise as well…and here is a question for all us die hards
What if Panthers win the spoon?
Paying $23 and Titans are favourites at $3,50 to win the spoon.
We are paying $21 to win the comp
We will need to see early how we run our attack because scoring points is going to be the major concern…i think we will all have a better idea about our chances very early
I just hope Cleary the coach has developed a better plan than either kicking or sending the ball to Kikau all the time
Bring it on and will be keen to watch the game on saturday
The first game of the season complete, I have a couple of predictions & observations.
The Captain’s challenge will get the flick. That was borderline embarrassing, it is supposed to be used for the “howler” that is missed, not a defense mechanism for someone to prove it wasn’t their fault.
If the 10m is going to be that tight for the rest of the season, we are in for a very boring comp.
The feather weenies (Parra ) will not make the 8 and all the so called experts who tip them top 4 can suck it !
Observations
Something drastic needs to be done with the scrums, keeping the scrum in tact is paramount. The easy solution for mine is, who feeds the scrum must receive the ball from the scrum, that way the lock must stay locked in and have the ball released by him.
Get tough on blockers for the bomb, this garbage is ruining the contest.
Shut the whingers up, all parra did was whinge to the officials the entire game, it’s an obvious tactic
Change the strip rule, once their are more than 2 in the tackle, the ball cannot be stripped. It is a bad look when 2 of 3 jump out of a tackle with hands in the air so the bloke that attacked the ball can strip it off someone who is in physical defense mode, that is not OUR game. I HATE IT
there might not be a 2020 season the way things are unfolding with this virus Kevin but i would like to add to your fair comments so far in Round 1
Agree on parra and my observation holds true, if Moses gets hurt or teams can shut him down they have nothing
I thought McGregor might be first to get dumped but gees Kearney at Warriors and the new bloke at Titans have major problems and concerns
On the captains call…i like the concept but as you pointed out about boofheads like RCG trying to hide their own errors, it will require some education of players which is a whole other conversation about keeping the challenge for either a real resinous error or indeed to help/delay play when you are under the pump
I think are blessed there is only one unsuccessful challenge because if it was opene ended a 5PM game would finish at midnight on what we have seen
and i know its way early and Roosters/Storm are yet to play but nothing looks to have changed with any team to such a point they would make me change my view of who will be there at the end
Its great to have footy back though albeit i feel for only a week or so before its shut down completely
The first time we have any player come back positive with this virus, the competition will be shut down
The C challenge, we used it to our own advantage and I still don’t like it. With 6 1/2 minutes to go, we lose the ball, clear knock on but we still go upstairs because we get our breath back and set our defensive line. While ever it is being used as a tactic, it will be ANOTHER stain on the game.
Should we take a punt on how much of a season we will get?
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) will not make the 8 and all the so called experts who tip them top 4 can suck it !
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